Sherman Asset Management Inc. Makes New Investment in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Sherman Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,925 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock, valued at approximately $558,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Summit Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter worth about $213,000. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 10,133 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $3,086,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 1,058 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $322,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter worth about $203,000. Finally, Americana Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 4,563 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,389,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.10, for a total transaction of $319,918.90. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 8,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,383,235.70. This represents a 11.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.15, for a total value of $989,121.35. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,807,201.25. This represents a 26.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 33,504 shares of company stock valued at $10,206,575. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of MCD opened at $308.17 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $220.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.06, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.74. McDonald’s Co. has a one year low of $243.53 and a one year high of $317.90. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $294.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $295.27.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.83. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is 62.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MCD shares. Bank of America boosted their price objective on McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays boosted their price target on McDonald’s from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Wedbush boosted their price target on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, TD Securities restated a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.61.

McDonald’s Profile

McDonald’s Corp. engages in the operation and franchising of restaurants. It operates through the following segments: U.S., International Operated Markets, and International Developmental Licensed Markets and Corporate. The U.S. segment focuses its operations on the United States. The International Operated Markets segment consists of operations and the franchising of restaurants in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the U.K.